DRW50

I remember some people speculated that Rita was forgotten because the show was afraid people would confuse her with Reva. It's weird though that not only did she never return, she was NEVER mentioned, even though she was right there with Ed, Roger, and Holly in their big stories. Rita just fascinates me. Talk about an antiheroine! She, along with Dorian Lord, wrote the book on that. And has there ever been a sexier woman in soap? My uncle, who mostly teases people about soaps and sees them as being about women who don't leave home, still talks sometimes about how hot she was. You've probably already read this but I thought it was a good summation of her. http://glmemories.blogspot.com/2007/06/satisfaction.html

I was just watching some clips of Casey and Ally. Laura Wright and PAS had such great chemistry together (and it was nice to see Laura before she became so cold as an actress). I wish GL hadn't chickened out in their plans to put them together -- they still had good chemistry even as Danny and Cassie. I hope PAS can get a good soap job soon.

I wonder if we will see the kiss or if they will only show us the reaction of the person who finds them. They edited down the first kiss and have shown none since. I do like the actors and their chemistry but this story has been so rushed. I wish the people at Eastenders knew how to tell stories. They did in the past. Sharon/Grant/Phil built up for years. Instead we just have stunts and tired comebacks. The Masoods and Syed/Christian, along with Bianca's family, are the best part of the show right now, so hopefully they will keep developing them.

I would be more into this story with Christian and Syed if they weren't so rushed and if the actors were allowed to show any affection for each other. They have already said there won't be any more kisses. The main focus seems to be on Syed's family. Christian is a very small part. I'm sure they would bring Grant back if Ross Kemp was interested. I don't think that was true about Chris Fountain joining Eastenders.

I never knew Pam Long wrote for this show. That makes 3 canned soaps she was at.

Is that the one where she's in a taxi? That one some claimed was similar to the promo for Secret Diary of a Callgirl. Sam seems like such an odd character to bring back, but then EE doesn't know how to bring characters back properly anyway, with a few exceptions, like Bianca. I'm still baffled by how pointless Janine has been since her return.

Holy crap, Bonnie Tyler is going to be on Hollyoaks Later! http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/a173893/bonnie-tyler-to-guest-in-hollyoaks-later.html

Thanks for the article. This is a real find. You always treat us. I remember Schmering writing about this in the Soap Opera Encyclopedia, and he said the woman who wrote it only knew how to write for radio soaps and had no idea what she was doing in a TV format. She later went on to headwrite Love of Life and was supposedly the deathknell for that show, as she wrote some Bambi Brewster story, a hooker with a heart of gold who wanted to find her minister father and learned he had abused her, that made the show the laughingstock of the industry.

Ricky Whittle (Officer Calvin Valentine), Ali Bastain (ex-Becca, currently on The Bill), and Laila Rouass (DI Dale Jackson before she moved to Footballers Wives) are all on this year's Stricly Come Dancing. Here's Ricky dancing:

No. The British soaps have varying styles. Emmerdale is more slow-paced, there's more comedy, more of a slow burn, more "old" people. For many years the show was about farming as much as sex or death. In recent years, starting around a huge plane crash in the village in 1995, the show has become more and more dramatic, although it still has something of its old country flair. Coronation Street is also more slow-paced, lots more comedy and older characters sitting around trading one-liners. They have tried to amp up the drama in recent years, there's more sex and violence now. Eastenders is more stunt stunt stunt, there's always a big death or revelation or affair, with a few bad comedy moments mixed in. The show used to be much more complex and rich but not in a long time. Hollyoaks is teens, issue issue issue, teens, wacky comedy moment, music video, teens. The Emmerdale lesbian wedding they were talking about was with Zoe Tate and one of her girlfriends. Zoe cheated with her girlfriend's ex-partner not long after the wedding, so no wonder RTD wasn't a fan Emmerdale had more gay content on their show than any other soap, UK or US. They had gay, bi, and lesbian characters consistently for almost 20 years. Unfortunately that has now stopped.

QAF, huh? That's interesting. Russell Davies is a big Corrie fan, he even wrote one of their video specials and nearly worked for them as a storyliner. He said he wanted that job for years but when he was offered, he turned it down because he realized if he took it he'd never leave. Perhaps he was just having a laugh at those who look down on soaps, or he sees Emmerdale as being inferior to Corrie. Emmerdale recently brought in a new producer to try to be less crap, or stodgy, or panto. They have a "sexy" new farming family (which basically seems to mean the father wears tight jeans and plunging shirts) and are clearing out some deadwood. It's not bad, although I didn't think the stories last year were bad either. They had a producer last year named Anita Turner who was treated horribly by the press. They called her "Anita Turnoff" and ran stories about how she fired extras and how she fired a child actor (she did this because he kept crying in scenes with the actor who played his father). I often wonder if a man would get that type of press if he behaved in a similar way. Something else I always remember about Emmerdale is early in this decade they brought in actors who won some Soapstar reality show. They made them a new family. I guess it's like an extended version of that "Wanna be a Soap Star" Soapnet did for a few years. Anyway, one of the show's leading actresses, who had been there for about 15 years, complained to the press. The family didn't last a year, but they also fired the actress. I wonder if they were just looking for an opportunity anyway. Do you ever get to see any of the British soaps?

Was that one of the Charlie Brooker shows? He tends to hate everything doesn't he? Emmerdale is often seen as stodgy and silly and a bit tired. Most of the British soaps are looked down on, although Eastenders, in spite of being seen as too depressing, sometimes gets critical acclaim when they do their much hyped "issue" stories. Corrie is also sneered at but is seen as an institution. Hollyoaks is sometimes praised but often seen as a shallow teen soap. I really enjoy Emmerdale, I think it's a much better show than it's given credit for and has done "issues" better than EE in recent years. You might want to look at some of the Debbie/Jasmine clips on Youtube, it's good soap. The cot death story they had last year was also very good. Here's the first part:

This sounds odd.

I'm so glad Roman and Deniz are moving back towards each other. They were a fascinating, complex, well-acted, super hot couple and I never knew why they broke up.

The Ramsay stuff will be over soon. Barbara Knox is taking six weeks off to recover from an illness. I hope she will be OK. I get upset when people say characters like Rita, Ken, and Emily are just useless relics. They are a link to the past, but the actors are still there, still giving their best, and are a great example of the continuity and seasons of life that many soaps no longer bother with now. When they're gone they can never be replaced.

Yes, Carly is very pretty, yet she can also be sexy. She's one of the most underrated actresses on soaps, UK or US.

Maxwell has a very hot body, moreso than his face, which is just kind of waxen yet well-preserved. I don't know why they keep him in all those clothes so often. I think Emmerdale at the moment has a number of very hot guys (especially John Barton), although EE is usually the soap which gets attention for their studs. I still remember the hoopla over Walford's new hunk...Callum Munks.

Nick returning isn't a rumor. That's confirmed. There's a rumor Sarah Louise will be returning. Adam Rickitt has given negative comment about his time on Corrie and from what I've seen he can be easily replaced, if the writing is there. The problem is they don't know how to keep leading men, and often struggle to write for them. What can you say when the leading man on your show is a murderer/attempted murderer of an old man/all-around loon. Sean is so annoying. Anthony Cotton can't do comedy or drama and has little charisma. I wish they could write him out. He's an easy, safe choice of gay for them. I prefer this to a show that makes a pretense of being hard-hitting but actually delves into the same, or worse, pathetic stereotypes, like Eastenders does with the forced Christian/Syed story, but it's just tiresome. I would rather see Leon stay on the show, and bring back Sean's adorable boyfriend Marcus. The scene with Tony decimating Liam's mother was fabulous. She's a nice woman and all but I hate those Connors.

David was a normal, happy child for some time, even after his parents Gail and Martin split up. Jack P Shephard wanted to play him as bad and the show went along with that. He began to go off the rails when Martin moved away with his new girlfriend, had a child with her, and was no longer interested in David. David became very bitter, and he started to turn against Gail, especially after he found Gail's former mother in law Ivy's diary. Ivy was grandmother to Gail's oldest kids, Nick and Sarah. Ivy was a real piece of work -- she always had problems with Gail and after her husband and son died Ivy became a complete religious fanatic and miserable all the time...she finally moved to a convent and died in 1995. Anyway, the diary mentioned that Gail had nearly aborted David. David was furious and read the diary to everyone at Christmas dinner. Things got worse and worse after this, with murder attempts and all sorts of ugliness, culminating in him pushing Gail down the stairs a year and a half ago and going to a facility for a few months. There's rarely been a breather. I think the character needs a break, but they're bringing back Gail's oldest son Nick so there will probably be some rivalry there.

I think those are safe for work, aside from a brief bit where Carley Stenson shows her bare back (she covers her breasts with her hands) while she's changing into another top.

Photos from the making of this year's Hollyoaks Babes calendar. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1202438/Hollyoaks-girls-strip-shoot-new-bikini-calender--drenching-water-fight.html I wish Jennifer Metcalfe hadn't lost so much weight.

Lots of teasers and spoilers from press day. http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/a165536/gossip-from-the-hollyoaks-press-day-2009.html

Looks like Jake Dean will be back. I'm not sure how long for. http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/H/hollyoaks/news/previous/09/07/090706pm.html

India has been cast. http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/a163457/hollyoaks-unveils-new-student-india.html

So many are leaving. I hope this means some of my favorites, like Jacqui and Steph, will get more to do. I wonder if Nancy will stay around. Almost everyone she knows is going. I bet Sarah and Zoe will leave together.